Flora Fauna: The Wolf's Tale
by Nefertanya dragongurl Ahhotep
Summary: This is technically the predecessor to The Flower's Roots in that it was written 1st. Make sure u read both to get the whole story. I may even put up goma's version....Thanxs to all who reviewed!


This tale take place after the original series, but as I haven't seen D2 yet(No Joe?! No Gomamon?!) it's as if it never happened. The original digi-tachi have been asked to retiurn to the Digital World to destroy a new mysterious evil. About 4 Earth-years have passed, making Joe 17, Matt+Tai 16, Mimi+Izzy 15, and Tk+Kari 12. The digimon are(I'd imagine) between 12-15 themselves-assuming they are slightly younger than the humans.  
This is one of those alternate view stories, where the same set of events are interpreted by 2 different ppl. Please read both to get the full experience.  
Standard disclaimers apply here. Rated PG for strong language.  
  
"Gabumon's not silly, just shy."  
~Patamon, from Evil Shows His Face  
  
  
Flora and Fauna-The Wolf's Tale  
  
It's a very nice day for a walk, I think. A casual stroll with plenty of spots where one can stop and enjoy the beauty of one's surroundings. Play a game of tag or two with friends, maybe eat a leisurely lunch under a tree. Yup, today's just that. The perfect day.  
--Provided you don't have to always be on the lookout for a surprise enemy attack.  
  
I am Gabumon, one of the defenders of the digi-destined. If you wish for me to be more specific, I am the protector of one Matt Ishida (and to a smaller extent, his little brother TK) from any evil digimon who would wish him harm. He carries a special item: the Crest of Friendship. All the kids have a crest. They make us stronger, so that we can better protect them, and help them free our world from darkness. That's why we must always remain vigilant.  
--Too bad this job doesn't come with any hazard pay. Or a vacation.  
  
Matt's a very nice young man. Once you've earned it, he's very loyal. He's very protective of his brother, but not quite as much as he used to be. TK is an innocent and a bit of a crybaby, but he has gotten better about it thanks to Patamon. Patamon is TK's protector. He's about as cavity-inducing as TK. Matt and TK don't always see each other that much in the real world. Their parents don't love each other enough to be together anymore, and they move to opposite sides of the city. I think it made Matt swallow his emotions till they burst. Usually this ends up in a fist fight with Tai.  
--'Course Tai often has it coming.....  
  
Tai is our leader. And we're still alive. Amazing. Don't get me wrong, he's a great guy, but y'know that old saying "Fools rush in...?" Well, I think someone had him in mind. Agumon's no help either. He loves it when Tai goes off on some half-baked idea. The defender of the Crest of Courage likes to be where the action is. Not that I blame him, but when there are still other options, why risk your neck and everyone else's?  
--Just who're they trying to impress, anyway?  
  
Izzy is our group nerd. Always tapping away at his computer, warbling on about computer codes and alien cover-up conspiracies. Tentamon is no better. That cyber bug is chock full of information. Too bad it tends to be hearsay. But without Izzy, we'd have to rely on Tai and Matt for a battle plan.  
--What a scary thought.  
  
Joe is the oldest. Therefore, he says, he is responsible for the group. I think he takes things way too seriously, and the others agree. Especially his digimon, Gomamon. Gomamon has tried every joke he can think of, I'll bet, but Joe seems no less pessimistic. Oddly though, their friendship seems stronger than anyone else's. Maybe it's because Gomamon is younger. It's possible Joe just sees him as a younger sibling.  
--Or maybe he's just taking his 'baby-sitter' mentality too far.  
  
Sora is our den mother. She's very nice. Her digimon, Biyomon, loves her as fiercely as she does. Sora is very protective. She is almost always the first to check on us after an attack or disaster. She keeps Tai in check very nicely, I think. Sora and Tai have been friends the longest. They play a game called Soccer together, which is really fun but hard on the head.   
--Personally, I think she's just waiting to kick off that helmet and party.  
  
Hikari is Tai's sister. She's the group's newest member. She's the same age as TK, but she's made of a little tougher stuff(must be that Kamiya hard-headedness). I must also say she has a heart of pure gold. She almost never thinks of herself, which can be problematic as she can and will work herself to exhaustion. Her protector, Gatomon, used to work for Myotismon. He beat her terribly, and forced away any memories of her true calling. There's still a wild streak in her, but she's been loyal so far.  
--Still, you know about cats and dogs....  
  
Mimi can be really annoying sometimes. She has a tendency to forget there's little civilization in the Digital World, and certainly no four-star restaurants. But when all the cards are dealt, she can be surprisingly resilient and resourceful.   
--Did I mention she likes the color pink?  
  
And then there's...her. Mimi's digimon defender is Palmon. She's a plant-type digimon. Actually, the best description for her is to say she's like an orchid with feet. She and Mimi are a lot alike. They'd rather play than work, aren't very serious, very fashion conscious, very good with medicinal herbs, and are both...kinda cute.  
Ok, there I said it. It's weird. I never thought about Palmon like this before. (Or anyone for that matter.) Not that I'm saying I thought she was hideous, no, far from it. But...well, it's different now. Sudden too. It's like I just woke up one morning, turned around, and Whoomp! there was these new sensations attached to me. Now, every time she tries to talk to me, y'know, just plain ordinary conversation, I walk away as soon as I can. I don't like being rude, but it's just so weird for me.  
--I feel like such a jerk.  
  
Y'see, every time she gets near me, My palms start to sweat, and my heart speeds up so fast I'm waiting for it to burst out of my chest! Then I can't seem to catch my breath, and I soon feel like everyone can hear me breathing! My stomach will turn inside-out and into knots, and I start to get all warm and sweaty under my thick fur.  
--So can you see why I have to keep some kind of distance between us?   
  
Today she stayed toward the end of the line with Sora and Mimi. She never came near me. And you know what's funny? I hated every minute of it. Isn't that the craziest thing you've ever heard? I really don't understand any of this. Perhaps Matt can explain. I'll ask him while we're alone on watch tonight.  
--Ah, Palmon, what are you doing to me?  
  
What a beautiful evening. The perfect setting for....oh skip it. I'm not in the mood. I'm helping Agumon, Tai, and TK collect firewood while the others fish and forage for Matt. He's an excellent chef, by the way. His grilled fruit and fish kabobs can't be beat! We all sit down to eat, but I don't feel hungry. Just my luck, Palmon is sitting across from me, and all I feel like doing is watching her. But it would really freak everybody out if I just went catatonic, so I continue to pick apart my kabob.   
"Hey, anything wrong, Gabumon? You're hardly eating."   
I nearly jumped out of my fur(an embarrassing prospect indeed) at Gomamon's question. Damn water digimon. What's he doing, watching me? Come to think of it, he's been looking at me funny all day....  
"Oh, I'm fine Gomamon. I guess I just got lost in my thoughts." There, that's an acceptable story. It's true after all. Just as long as they don't ask me....  
"What were ya thinkin' 'bout, Gabumon?"   
Oh, thanks a lot, TK. "Well...I was just thinking about what a quiet day we had today." Gomamon is giving me another look. I swear, if there weren't witnesses around, I'd sock him right in those green eyes of his.   
"Oh, great, Gabumon. Now we're jinxed!" wails Joe.  
"Relax Joe. Everything's gone fine today. I'm sure it will be fine tonight, too." --Leave it to Sora to keep a calm head.   
  
"Are you kidding?! We're bound to be attacked by something now! It's just like saying 'what else can go wrong?' Oh no, I said it! Augh!!!"  
--Leave it to Joe to go ballistic.  
  
"Yeah, Joe, relax! With me and Agumon on guard duty, nothing will bother us tonight!"  
--Oh, be still my beating heart.  
  
The sun is beginning to set behind the trees. Soon it will be dark and dangerous.   
"sigh. Isn't it beautiful?"   
"Mmm-hmm, sure is Palmon. The sun never sets like this back home."  
Palmon and Pink(er, my private nickname for Mimi. Don't tell her though, ok?) are apparently the only ones that remained indifferent after Joe's outburst. With Mimi it's old hat-she just can't seem to grasp the concept that here her life is always endangered. Izzy once told us about a great war that was fought in their world. I can just see her, standing in the middle of a battlefield, complaining about how camouflage isn't her color and trading lipsticks with the enemy.  
Palmon, I know, is well aware of the danger. Even though she's relaxed now, she'd give her life in an instant to protect her digi-partner. We all would. I hadn't realized it, but I must have been staring, because suddenly she turns and gives me a shy wave. Well, I guess I don't have to tell you how that affected me. I really need to talk to Matt.   
--Where is he, anyway?  
  
Augh!!! What's he doing going over to Mimi!! I can't talk about this with them around! Oh, greatgreatgreat, now what? As I pondered my dilemma, we all failed to notice the fireball heading towards us until nearly too late. Dust and debris scatter everywhere, but somehow thanks to Tai's persistence, we managed to regroup, all unharmed(see, he's good for something) but shaken.   
"What was that?"   
"Oh I knew it! Didn't I tell you guys something like this would happen? We're all doomed!" Look up pessimist on Izzy's computer, and I'll guarantee you'll find Joe's picture there. But before anyone can retort, another fireball hits nearby. We have to protect our digi-destined! In unspoken agreement, we digivolve!  
"Agumon-digivolve to....MetalGreymon!"  
"Gabumon-digivolve to....WereGarurumon!"  
"Biyomon-Digivolve to...Garudamon!"  
--Oh, you get the idea. We go Ultimate and kick butt.  
  
I would be lying if I said I jumped right into battle. I would've, I should've. I really meant to! But well...yeah, you guessed it. Palmon.   
Actually, Lillymon. Definitely not the type of fairy you want to cheat out of a tooth. She's a real tough fighter, real agile with a killer Flower Cannon attack. I remembered the first time I really saw her. I was totally in awe by such lethal beauty.  
Anyways, while I was waxing sentimental, another fireball landed and nearly creamed me. Minor damage to the body, but my pride wasn't too happy. I leapt up to attack! No on would harm Matt and TK while WereGarurumon was about!!  
--But nothing was there.  
  
It was so quiet. We all were waiting. Watching. And getting extremely agitated. After what seemed like hours but was probably only minutes, we looked at each other. Tai spoke up-  
"Hey guys! Maybe you'd better devolve and save your strength!" he shouted. We complied. After all, it's just stupid to waste all your energy like that.   
"I think we should get a move on while the getting's good." barked Tai.  
"That's crazy Tai!" Leave it to Matt to find fault in Tai's ideas. "It's already dark! Where are we gonna go?!"  
"Well we just can't stay here, Matt! Those fireball things might come back!" Their voices are getting shriller. Someone should stop this....  
--Gosh, I didn't realize Palmon was standing so close to me.  
  
I've really gotta get a grip on whatever this is. Now I'm separated from Matt and the others! The last thing I remember was a tremendous blast, then the sensation of flight as I was thrown Gennai-knows-where. I must have been knocked unconscious, for the sun has risen.   
This is so Stupid!! I'm angry at the fireballs, I'm angry at Matt and Tai for fighting instead of watching, I'm mad at Palmon for distracting me, but mostly I'm mad at myself for being distracted. What's wrong with me? If this keeps up, I won't have to worry about protecting the digi-destined-they'll all be dead!  
-- And wouldn't that look good on a job application?  
  
A rustling behind me commands my attention. I won't fail this time. I growl most threateningly and take a fighting stance. As the figure emerges, I tense my muscles for attack. I leap into action! Beware stranger! Beware my....Palmon!?!  
She gasps as she sees me charging at her. I try to pull up, but my trajectory throws my balance off and I end up with my face at her feet.   
"Gabumon?" She bends down to help me, but I get nervous. I hastily back up and push myself up. And whack my head on a low tree branch, which causes me to fall on my tail.  
"Are you all right, Gabumon?"  
Can I embarrass myself any further?! Jeeze! I rub my sore head.   
"Yeah, I'm fine. You...startled me, that's all."  
She smiles at me with that funny grin of hers and giggles.  
"Didn't mean to. Have you seen anybody else?"  
I shake my head. "No, I haven't."  
"So I guess it's just the two of us for a while, huh."  
--Thank heavens I'm sitting down still! Is she doing this on purpose?!  
  
I pretend not to notice her outstretched hand as I stand back up. I'm not being snobbish, I'm just afraid of what might happen if I take it! I wish I'd gotten a chance to talk to Matt about this earlier. I look over my shoulder in the general direction we came from.  
"I suppose we should walk back that way. Possibly we'll meet up with the others." As I look back, I notice that her face is troubled. She must be really worried about Mimi. She silently nods in agreement and we start off.  
--With a bit of distance between us, of course. No more distractions to hinder us.  
  
Damn. Spoke to soon. We've walked for what, fifteen minutes? And now there's a strange digimon blocking the path. He's as tall as WereGarurumon, and about the same body type. His stench is terrible, and there are flies buzzing all around his piggish head. Two large tusks are protruding from his mouth, and let me tell you that doesn't exactly instill a lot of confidence in me. Neither does the dull gleam in his eyes, or that big board he's leaning on.  
Behind me, Palmon gasps and grabs my arm.   
"Gabumon? Gabumon, let's turn around, Okay?" She's really scared, and coupled with my own sense of foreboding, I barely register the fact she's got a death grip on me.  
"Why? What is it, Palmon?"  
"Don't you know who that is?" I shake my head. "That's Javamon! He's not much in the brains department, but he's real vicious! Those tusks are sharper than ginsu knives and that board of his has a razor-like edge!"  
Oh goody. First attacked by mystery fireballs, then blown clear across the Digital World and separated from Matt, and now a short-tempered pig with his own cutlery! sigh I hope somebody out there is getting a good laugh.  
"Gabumon, let's go! If he's blocking the path, we'll never get through!" I hesitate.   
"But Palmon, as far as we know, there isn't another way. Now c'mon, I'm sure he's not that bad! We need to find the others as quickly as possible!"  
"But Gabumon, he'll kill us!'  
"I remove her hand from my arm and smile reassuringly. "He doesn't know who we are, right? So he has no reason to not let us through." Yes! Good plan, Gabumon! I walk up to the big guy, confident and respectful. I open my mouth to impart a friendly greeting....  
--And barely miss getting my head knocked off.  
  
I hear Palmon's scream, and feel something warm on my face. But they don't really register. My survival instincts have kicked in and all I can think of is defense.  
"Gabumon-digivolve to....Garurumon!"  
I leap away, easily avoiding the oaf's next swing. He's strong, but slow. That's good. It gives me an edge.  
"HOWLING BLASTER!" Blue ice fire streaks towards him, but Javamon blocks it in time. Ugly bends his head towards me-  
"RAZOR TUSK!"   
Ack! Those things are mini missiles too?! I barely miss losing an eye, too bad the tree behind me can't say the same thing.  
"LIGHT SPEED JAB!" Togemon plows into Javamon, knocking the wind out of him. He staggers to his feet, clearly weakened. Now's our chance!  
"HOWLING BLASTER!"  
"NEEDLE SPRAY!"  
Our combined attacks hit with alarming accuracy. Javamon howls in pain and anger, then disappears from our sight. Well good riddance to bad rubbish. I can feel myself growing weak, and quickly devolve back to rookie. A quick look shows that Palmon's returned as well.   
"Gabumon! Gabumon!" She comes flying at me, her arms trailing behind her like streamers. "Are you all right! I told you to avoid him." Before I can say anything in my defense, she makes a small cry of horror and points to my eye.  
"Oh my gosh, you're really bleeding!"   
I am? I reach up to where she's pointing and rub lightly. Pulling my hand away, I see she's right-bright red stains my fingers and begins to trail down my palm. She pulls me back to the tree that had been my shield earlier.   
"Sit here while I go get something to fix you up with. And don't move!"  
--Where would I go?  
  
After a few minutes she returns with her supplies. She dabs a cottonball-type plant on my head while I close my eyes and try unsuccessfully to will my body to behave. She stops all too soon.  
"Umm, Gabumon?"   
She speaks so quietly. "Yes?"  
"We have a slight...technical difficulty."  
My eyes open in alarm. Difficulty? What does that mean? And why won't she look at me?  
"What? What is it?" I'm no good if I'm injured! I can't protect Matt, and I'll just slow the team down!  
"Well, you see," she starts as she fidgets with the blood-stained compress, "The blood appears to be coming from...a different spot than I thought." ? A different spot? Well, I guess that's not too life-threatening. It may be my imagination, but is she blushing?  
"Where is it coming from then?"  
"Well, I thought it was behind your eye originally, but now I think-" she lightly taps a finger near the base of my horn. "That it's coming from here."  
Wait. What is she getting at?  
"And the only way I can get to it," she continues, "is for you to...remove your fur." She says it so softly, anyone else would have asked her to repeat. Fortunately I have good hearing-  
--WAIT! WHAT DID SHE JUST SAY!?!  
  
"Take...off...my...."   
No way.   
Remove my fur. In the open. In broad daylight? The concept's unthinkable. She apparently doesn't se it that way.   
"Yeah. I need to clean your wound, and I can't very well do that with your fur covering it up, can I?"  
No way. I shake my head, eyes wide with horror. She doesn't understand! I've never taken my fur off in front of someone before! Well, except that one time, but Matt was unconscious! I can't do it! I can't!!  
She sees my apprehension. "You wouldn't' have to take it all off, Gabumon. Just the part that covers your head."  
But that's my worst feature!!! She's sadistic! Too horrified to speak, I continue to shake my head. She reasons, she pleads, she bargains, but I don't crack. Finally, after twenty minutes, she reaches her breaking point and leaps to her feet.   
"Look Gabumon. "she hisses, "Either you take off that damn hood willingly or I will remove it for you permanently." She yanks out the tusk Javamon had previously abandoned and brandishes it under my nose.   
--And I thought Lillymon was dangerous.  
  
Measuring my options, I jump to the only conclusion I can. I look up and nod meekly. She stands a moment longer, probably deciding whether I'm sincere or not, then drops the tusk and sits down. She looks away from me and waits.   
I can't believe I'm actually going to do this. But I no longer have a choice and I know Palmon's right. I swallow hard, take a deep breath and close my eyes. Then, with shaky hands I begin to carefully remove my hood. I'm not opening my eyes. I don't want to see the revulsion in her face. I repeat a mantra of self-reassurances, but they're not helping.  
--I think I'm gonna throw up.  
  
Palmon's touch is gentle but shaky. Well maybe that's only because I know I am. After a stretch of silence, I actually begin to calm down! Common sense has managed to break through my hysteria. Even if Palmon was terrified by my ugly mug, she's too much of a friend to let it show, so why should I panic? If I can extract a promise out of her, she won't even tell Pink what she saw.   
--And believe me, they gossip about everything!  
  
It was so light I may have imagined feeling it, but I swear she was(at least for a couple seconds) tracing around my horn with her fingertip! I was so startled I actually opened my eyes! I guess that must have startled her, because she jumped and looked awkward for a moment. She got back to work, bandaging my wound with thin strips of some kind of plant stalk.   
"You can put your fur back on now, Gabumon." she tells me shyly. I silently comply. We don't say anything for a moment, not unsure just what to say.   
I'm thirsty. I need to get a drink and clear my head. As I begin to stand, she pushes me back.  
"Where do you think you're going?"  
I'm surprised by her tone. "I'm thirsty." I whine. "I'm going to get a drink."  
"No. You're still hurt. I'll get some water for you."  
Now how is she going to bring back water when we have nothing to carry it in? Before I can point that out to her, she's gone. She returns soon, holding her hands oddly and walking very carefully. She kneels down before me and holds them out. I must say I'm really impressed. She's somehow managed to use her Poison Ivy attack to form a sort of water-tight bowl.  
"Where did you learn that?" I ask amazed.  
"Oh, this? It was kind of an act of desperation. Once a while back, Mimi hurt her head and was too dizzy to walk anywhere. I went down to the river and tried to find a container, but nothing would work so I invented this trick. Drink up!"  
Umm....ok. Wish she'd thought to invent a straw on the way back, but I guess the old-fashioned way will do. I stick my muzzle in the "bowl" and slurp up the water. --Yes, I know it's terrible table manners but what are ya gonna do?   
  
"Thanks, Palmon." I wipe my mouth on my sleeve and glance at her. She has a weird expression on her face, almost as if she's trying not to laugh at something.   
"No problem. How do you feel?"  
"A lot better." I smile. "I'm sorry I was such a difficult patient."  
She waves her hands. "Oh don't worry about it! I'm sorry I had to threaten you like that, but ya didn't leave me with much of a choice!"  
We smile and chuckle at each other. I feel stronger now. I think we should continue on. She agrees when I tell her what I think and stands up. I follow suit, using the tree as leverage.  
  
SoMeThInG's NoT RiGhT. The world spins around and around at breakneck speed, and I begin to collapse. Something grabs on to me, steadies me. I tightly close my eyes and take deep ragged breaths. Eventually, the vertigo fades. I open my eyes to see Palmon looking concerned and terrified.  
"Are you okay?!"  
I nod slightly. "Yeah, yeah. I must have just stood up too fast. That's all."  
"Do you wanna sit back down?"  
"No. I'm fine. Just-give me a moment here."   
As I'm standing there, I slowly realize my hands are on her hips, and she's still hanging on to me. All those sensations come flying back. Or maybe, they never left and I was too preoccupied to notice them. I don't want to let go, but I'm scared to hold on. I force myself to look at her. The look in her eyes is something I've never seen before. Maybe...Maybe she feels the same things I am? My heart beats a little faster at the thought, not exactly a good thing when you're still weak.   
"Umm.." she begins and clears her throat.  
"Yeah." Wow, what riveting conversation! C'mon Gabumon, tell her how you feel! You've battled and defeated VenomMyotismon, this can't be any harder! But try as I might, all the words I know die on the tip of my tongue.  
Now is it my imagination, or is she closer now than before? No, I'm right, she is closer. I can't tell if it's me moving or her or both, but it's like some sort of magnetic pull. I remember overhearing TK telling Patamon what a 'kiss' was. A way of saying you like someone, he'd said. Maybe-it works the same way for digimon? Kissing Palmon does not seem like a bad idea. And I am having difficulty finding the right words to say...  
She's so close I can feel her breath on my lips, smell her sweet floral fragrance. All I have to do is lean forward a little bit more.....  
"PALMON?! GABUMON! WE FOUND YOU!!"  
We both jump a mile and scream. TK and Gomamon come running up the path. "I'm so glad we found you! I thought we'd all be lost forever!" TK grabs me in a big hug. I'm glad to see him, really I am, but at the moment I just want to wring his neck! I glance over to Palmon, but she's too busy talking to Gomamon. Or maybe she just doesn't want to look at me?  
--Ah Matt, where are you when I need you?   
  
Ok! Finito! Please read both sides of the tale, and review! Hope u enjoyed my little labors of love!   
  
  



End file.
